Twin Lakes State Beach
Managed by California Department of Parks and Recreation
85 acres1.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Twin Lakes
24% of Twin Lakes’ land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 2.9 miles of mapped trail cross Twin Lakes, 4.2 per square mile of land. 24% of Twin Lakes’ land is conserved, about 105 acres.
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #45 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
24%
105 acres · of 0.7 sq mi of land
Trails
2.9 mi
4.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
121 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.4 mi
3.4 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
2
4 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Twin Lakes?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Twin Lakes have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Twin Lakes is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #45 of 847 in California. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Twin Lakes’ overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails4.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (121 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 98%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 95%
Water is 43% of Twin Lakes’ area (1 of 1 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 14%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Twin Lakes State Beach, with 1.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Managed by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
294 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Corcoran Lagoon Coastal Access
Park
15 acres0.1 mi of trail
Francis L. Markey Public Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Twin Lakes State Beach85 acres · 1.9 mi of trail · California Department of Parks and Recreation
DirectionsFelt Street Park2 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsCorcoran Lagoon Coastal Access15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSunny Cove Beach County Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsTwin Lakes Neighborhood Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMonterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary294 acres · National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
DirectionsSimpkins Family Swim Center10 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
105 conserved acres
24% of Twin Lakes’ land. Water is left out: Twin Lakes has 0.7 square miles of land and 0.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Twin Lakes’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks88 ac
County16 ac
State Park · 88 acLocal Recreation Area · 10 acLocal Park · 6 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twin Lakes State Beach State Park | State parks | 88 | Open |
| Simpkins Swim Center Local Recreation Area | County | 10 | Open |
| Sunny Cove Beach County Park Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
| Felt Street Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
| Twin Lakes Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
16 places to go in Twin Lakes
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Twin Lakes
Black's Beach/Lincoln Beach
DirectionsSanta Maria's BeachIn Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
DirectionsSunny Cove BeachIn Sunny Cove Beach County Park
DirectionsTwin Lakes BeachIn Twin Lakes State Beach
DirectionsPublic pools in Twin Lakes
Toddler PoolIn Simpkins Family Swim Center
DirectionsWarm Water PoolIn Simpkins Family Swim Center
DirectionsPlus 2 public pools without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Twin Lakes
7 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Twin Lakes
1 community garden without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Francis L. Markey Public Nature Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
7Basketball
3Baseball
1Tennis
1Soccer
1Multi-sport
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Twin Lakes: April to August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 61 | 61 | 63 | 65 | 67 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 70 | 65 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 5.9 | 5.6 | 4.1 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 5.6 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 72 °F). 5.9 inches fall in January, the wettest month. The climate in Twin Lakes →
Next door
Twin Lakes and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twin Lakes | 24% | 4.2 | 24 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Pleasure Point | 4% | 1.6 | 6 | 99%+ | A− |
| Santa Cruz | 26% | 5.9 | 34 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Live Oak | 2% | 1.1 | 4 | 99%+ | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Twin Lakes
Where can I hike in Twin Lakes?
The longest trail networks: Twin Lakes State Beach, 1.9 miles; Felt Street Park, 0.3 miles; Corcoran Lagoon Coastal Access, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Twin Lakes is conserved land?
24% of its land, against a typical 4% for a California town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Twin Lakes’ trails?
Twin Lakes State Beach and Felt Street Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Twin Lakes?
3.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.4 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Twin Lakes?
29,895 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Twin Lakes or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 121 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Twin Lakes have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #45 of 847 in California. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Twin Lakes neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →